Cut to foreign convicts scheme...

It feels like Immigration Minister Damian Green has surreptitiously announced a cut to a Home Office scheme which saw the Government paying foreign convicts to return to their own countries today.

Before October 1 the Home Office would pay £5,000 to foreign lags who still had time left on their sentences, and £3,000 to those who had finished their jail term, to go back to their home country.

The initiative, called the Facilitated Return Scheme (FRS), cost the Government some £4.8m in 2009/10, but had been hailed by the previous and current administrations as a “practical solution” to getting rid of foreign convicts.

But, tucked away at the bottom of an answer to a written question, Green said today:

“In order to make the scheme more affordable and bring it in line with other assisted voluntary, return programmes, it has been necessary to reduce the amount of assistance given to those who leave the country under FRS. As of 1 October 2010, those who apply for and are accepted onto the scheme will receive a reduced cash payment amount. We anticipate that high numbers of individuals will continue to take up the scheme and we will monitor the level of applications over the coming months.”

Lobbydog put in a call to the Home Office who said the amounts now paid out would be reduced to £1,500 and £750 respectively.

That’s a meaty 70% reduction for the upper tier amount and an even bigger 75% reduction for the lower tier amount.

You might think it’s a good thing we're not giving so much taxpayers’ cash to convicts.

The question is, will it mean more foreign convicts deciding to stay in the UK? The £750 might hardly cover the plane fare home.

Damian Green's Christmas promise

Immigration Minster Damian Green said something in a committee hearing today which we should not let him forget.

He was being questioned about the detention of children at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Centre, Bedfordshire.

When asked how confident he was that there would be no more children there within a year he said he was very confident.

He was so confident, in fact, that he said if there was a single child there in December 2010 then he would dress up as Santa Claus and deliver presents to them – in a way I’d actually quite like to see that.

Police must not be used as "instrument of executive"

HM Chief Inspector Denis O’Connor talked about the lessons learnt from Damian Green’s arrest today.

He said: “The frequency of the leaks and the failure to identify the sources or prevent the leaks raises a question about the effectiveness of the department security regime that was in place...

“As we now know, the Home Office leaks were not a threat to national security and yet the police became involved in an investigation.

"They did this as a result of a convergence of events - concern over the potential threat and Cabinet Office guidelines which, on some readings, could be seen to have encouraged a police investigation.

“These guidelines allow not just for police investigation but also matters relating to serious interference with the functions of Government.

"Departments and the Cabinet Office should have the capability to deal with the matter and should not have to rely on the police.

“The smooth running of Government is not an obvious matter for the police. The police are generally considered to be part of the state, but not an instrument of the executive as such.”

Who's next in the Home Office?

So another Home Secretary chokes on the poisoned chalice.

I couldn’t go into the Chamber for her speech yesterday as I was busy writing a story, but hacks have said Jacqui Smith looked defeated and as if she just didn’t want the job anymore.

The scandals now eating her political career like a flesh eating virus – the Damian Green affair, her sister’s house, her husband’s porn, G20 protests, student visas – mean it can’t be long to the end.

It’s more a question of timing for Brown. He has to wait for the Damian Green affair to pass in order to avoid any perception that the Tories have taken her scalp.

But the longer he waits the more her departure may affect the summer elections. People, including his own MPs, may also question his judgement on the matter.

Smith follows a long line of ministers who’ve been crushed by the Home Office, think David Blunkett and Charles Clarke.

Those that managed to do the job and come out the other side include Jack Straw and Ken Clarke – two insatiable survivors.

But the daunting history will not put off others who fancy themselves a promotion to one of the biggest jobs in Government.

Hazel Blears springs to mind. The Communities Secretary is feisty enough to take on Chris Grayling.

Brown might also think her “I’m an honest girl from a working family” manner might be what the position needs.

Note the timing of Brown's apology

Am I the only person who thinks it suspicious that for days the PM refused to apologise for the McBride Scandal and then when he did, it came as another big, long-awaited story was breaking?

An effective comms man at Number 10 would have noticed the Green arrest story coming out this morning and realised the apology would not get as much coverage if it was done at the same time.

Brown’s “sorry for what happened” comment came less than an hour before Green’s statement on his arrest, release and the overall investigation.

A lucky coincidence?

Damian Green looked emotional

Just got back from Damian Green’s briefing in the press gallery, he looked like he’d been through a lot.

Triumphalism was suppressed and he came across magnanimous.

The shadow immigration minister called Jacqui Smith a poor Home Secretary but declined twice to call for her resignation.

He confirmed his DNA had been taken, and demanded it be removed from any database, also highlighting bugs used during his arrest.

He said: “The Government is very keen to use the full power of the state to investigate other people, but seem very unkeen to have any of its own activities investigated.”

You can hear the political gun turrets turning, expect the backlash soon.

Smith back in the spotlight

Just when she thought everyone was finally looking the other way, Jacqui Smith will find a good few fingers pointing at her again today.

The Home Affairs Select Committee report into the Damian Green affair concludes the Cabinet Office exaggerated national security implications of leaks that led to Green’s arrest.

Indeed, it was evidence from the Home Office that convinced committee members national security was not at such a risk.

If that was the case why didn’t Smith realise things were getting out of hand and do something?

Vaz seemed to suggest today that the exaggeration was not sanctioned by ministers, only officials – if so, why didn’t officials speak to their ministers about such a crucial matter?

A Home Secretary in a strong position might find this one a toughie.

Jacqui Smith's pants on fire

When Lobbydog was a pup disobedient pupils at his school would set the fire alarm off just before double physics.

So, when Parliament’s alarm went off today, I wondered if Home Secretary Jacqui Smith hadn't hit the switch.

Bells started ringing just as she was due to give evidence to a committee on the Damian Green affair.

When we did finally get started 45 minutes later we may as well have stayed outside because she refused to answer anything of significance.

She trotted out the same old excuse about not saying anything while the police investigation was on-going.

It was fun, though, to watch her get all narky with David Davies when he asked her if Bob Quick was a "close friend" of hers.

Bob Quick, Cameron slow

All of a sudden there's something a bit fishy about the Tory party's Damian Green dealings.

The whole affair always had the makings of a situation that might back fire, leaving egg on Conservative faces.

Originally, after Green's arrest, they were happy to play the part of state harassment victims.

But now Met Police assistant commissioner Bob Quick has accused the party and its "friends" of aggravating his investigation into the affair.

That is an accusation which can be brushed off.

However, Quick also said he was forced to move his children away from home because of details published in a right-of-centre newspaper article.

When was the last time children were pulled into politics like this? When Damian Green was arrested in front of his daughter.

Cameron has gone on the offensive, demanding Quick withdraw comments suggesting the Tories had anything to do with the article.
As far as I can see, though it may simply have not been reported, Cameron has made no statement of concern for the children involved.

Even if the Tories had nothing to do with the article – Quick’s reaction does have a knee-jerk feel to it – you would expect savvy PR man Cameron to show some concern for the kiddies.

UPDATE, 11.25am: Quick just issued a full apology. Dominic Grieve said on behalf of the Tories: “We accept Assistant Commissioner Quick’s unreserved apology and this draws a line under the matter.”

How magnanimous.

Suppressed anger

A Notts MP told Lobbydog today that anger amongst Labour members over Michael Martin's performance is much greater than has been reported.

A story on the BBC suggested thirty-two MPs no longer had confidence in the Commons Speaker and 50 said he was at fault over the arrest of Damian Green.

While the MPs won’t be willing to let the Tories take Martin's scalp, there will be mounting pressure on him to step down behind the scenes.

Lobbydog has already made its view known - considering the Speaker has been in post for the customary eight years, it's time to let someone else have the chair.

Whipping up a storm

Bob Marshall-Andrews just revealed in the Commons that Labour MPs have been put on a "thinly veiled" three line whip for today's Damian Green debate.

If anyone needed any proof that this issue has become too politicised to be meaningful, that was it.

Good on Bob, a Labour MP himself, for letting the cat out of the bag.

The fateful search...

Fingers are pointed while the police search Damian Green's office. Watch the full video spliced with Dominic Grieve pontificating about it here.

I know nothing...

Was it me or were Speaker Martin’s hands shaking while he tried to fob blame off for the Damian Green cock-up on to the police?

Martin said he had never authorised the police search of shadow immigration minister Green’s office – to gasps and howls in the House.

Apparently the Serjeant at Arms had signed a consent form without ever having asked if there was a search warrant – which it turns out there wasn’t.

Martin said the police did not explain, as they are required to do, that the Serjeant was not obliged to consent to the search or that a warrant could have been insisted upon.

Maybe the police were in the wrong, but surely the Serjeant at Arms should have known the rules too.

Anyone who has ever seen The Bill knows when the police come to search your place the first question you ask is: “You got a warrant?”

And if Martin didn’t know about the search then he should have done. It’s no good saying his underlings didn’t tell him, that just shows there is a huge communication problem among the Commons authorities.

Either way Lobbydog says the buck stops with him.

The only thing more despicable was watching Gordon Brown dodge questions on what he thought about the whole affair – answering every one with an “I don’t want to pre-judge an inquiry” response.

Watch the whole thing here.